The Siege, Part Two And One Quarter
by PadawanMage
Summary: What went on in Major Sheppard's mind as he started his run to the Hive Ships, and what was going on in the Daedalus in the meantime? Set as a post-tag to "The Siege, Pt 2" and a possible pre-tag to Part 3. Read & Review!


**Title:** "The Siege, Part 2 ¼"

**Spoilers:** Up to "The Siege, Part 2"

**Summary:** What went on in Major Sheppard's mind as he started his run to the Hive Ships, and what was going on in the _Daedalus_ in the meantime? Set as a post-tag to "The Siege, Pt 2" and a possible pre-tag to Part 3

**Author's Notes:** I'm pretty sure the season opener won't be anything like this, but I wanted to write this and share. I really don't know exactly how things would work on a military vessel, so I made up things as I went along. Hopefully they make sense.

My reasoning for the title was since it was just after Part 2 but before Part 3. Okay, to be honest, I couldn't think of a cool title. ;-) And I guess I have a thing for cliffhangers.

**Read and Review!**

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"They haven't detected my approach. The weapon is armed…I'm going in."

Major John Sheppard glanced one last time at the Genii atomic weapon before looking out of his cockpit at the literal swarms of Wraith darts buzzing around him. As a precaution, he rechecked to make sure the cloak was still functioning. Beyond the fighters the two massive hulks of the Hive Ships loomed. Surprise would definitely be on his side if he could pull this off. He had to give Elizabeth credit on being able to obtain these nukes, especially from the Genii. John found the irony extremely biting since he knew that somewhere, somehow, Kolya would have a good laugh at his expense.

Sheppard idly wondered what had had happened to Sora, since in all the hectic preparations to defend Atlantis, no one had thought to check the brig. John shook his head. That wasn't his problem now. All that mattered was giving Atlantis more time, hopefully enough for the _Daedalus_ to arrive. He checked a holographic display and found that most of the darts were coming from the closest ship. Either the farther one was keeping its ships in reserve or it was acting as some form of flagship. A few course corrections and the jumper angled on its new trajectory. Most of the darts were away so he could literally fly straight to his target, though he was taking it slow since he had no idea what to expect from the smaller escorts around the two larger ships.

The estimated time of arrival recalculated on the display and showed what remained of John's life: seven minutes. John sighed, remembering another time when he was just another helicopter pilot back in Antarctica. It really felt like another – someone else's – life. Who knew taking someone like General O'Neill, and then dodging a half-controlled drone flown by Beckett, would lead to traveling clear across the universe?

In all the 'excitement' to get this far, John hadn't even left a note behind. Only a few words and look of desperate resolve had passed between him and Elizabeth, and then he left at her quiet – almost whispered – 'Go'. That was one of the reasons he had no personal message made when the SGC was contacted in that second – sorry, 1.3 second – burst transmission Rodney had put together. There really wasn't anyone back on Earth to whom he'd want to say goodbye. His only message had been to Colonel Sumner's family, explaining what had happened. He honestly felt duty-bound to at least explain – as best he could, given the circumstances – what had happened.

John hadn't been lying when he had told Colonel Everett about seeing Sumner's face every single time he went to sleep. He kept telling himself that the look Sumner gave him was one of permission, to do what had to be done. But Everett, damn him, had thrown it in his face that he hadn't done enough, that it might've been possible to do something. The man wasn't there, but Everett's words were enough to put a shadow of doubt into John's mind.

John wasn't an overly religious man, but a small part of him hoped that what he was about to do would maybe, just maybe give a small measure of peace to the dead as well as to the living.

The radio crackled and Rodney's excited voice came through:

"_Major, you don't have to do this! Give me a little time and I might get the Mark II reactor back up and running!"_

John sighed. "Rodney, the key word there is 'might'. You guys are only a few minutes away from being overrun, so you really can't spare the time."

"_But I think I found a way to jumpstart the Mark II using our own reactors – "_

"Rodney," John said through clenched teeth. "There is no time. If I'm guessing right, they've got a whole ship full of darts in reserve. I take that out…"

"_Dammit, Sheppard, it's always has to be your way, doesn't it? Always trying to be the hero - I'm sure they'll make a great movie about you when this is all over!"_

"You know, Rodney, in the time remaining, if you could find some way to somehow harness all that sarcasm, direct it right at the Wraith, I'm betting they'd all die of annoyance."

"_Major," Weir's voice cut in, quietly yet firmly. "How long till…impact?"_

"Four minutes...wish me luck," John said. He then cut communications before anything else was said.

"I never did like that channel."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**500,000 light years away**

Colonel Steven Caldwell gripped the sides of his command chair, trying hard not to show any tension in his face as the Daedalus shuddered around him. Under normal flight, at 100 power, the ship could cruise with its inertial dampeners keeping any vibration to a minimum.

Caldwell had ordered the engines pushed to 175.

Since being dropped off somewhere between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies, Caldwell had ordered the ship to fly at that speed - and maintain it - for 24 hours. His chief engineer had tightly said that while the ship might make it to Atlantis, there was a good chance that with every hour the engines were pushed, they all might want to consider permanent residence in the lost city.

Caldwell accepted that. Once Atlantis was secured, the SGC could send the Prometheus to ferry supplies and equipment back to her sister ship, since they had no ZPM of their own to 'gate all the way out here. This might be, as General O'Neill had guessed, a one-way trip, but his orders were explicit:

Get to Atlantis at all cost.

"We've just crossed into the Pegasus galactic rim," the Navigation Officer spoke up from her station. "ETA: three minutes."

"Understood." Caldwell said. His mission, getting to Atlantis as quickly as possible, was only one of two parts involved. The first part had already begun before he'd even gotten to his ship.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

From the control room of Stargate Command, Caldwell stood next to General O'Neill as the ZPM-powered gate dialed and connected with Atlantis. An IDC was sent and an acknowledgement received. Colonel Everett, at the base of the ramp, saluted to O'Neill, turned and headed towards the wormhole, weapon in hand. Once the initial team went through, more soldiers and carts with crates filled with weapons, ammunition and mines were sent through as well. It took several minutes, but just as quickly as it came, the gate disengaged.

"ZPM has been disconnected and is being prepared for transport to _Daedalus_," a technician said. The ship currently stood at a parking orbit waiting for the Ancient power source as well as the its commanding officer.

O'Neill led Caldwell into his office for some last minute instructions. Once the door was closed, the rank could be suspended for a moment as the two friends talked.

"Jack, you already know that even with the new upgraded engines and the ZPM, it's going to take us four days to get there."

Jack leaned back in his chair. "You don't think Everett can hold Atlantis till then?"

"I'm not saying that," Caldwell said with a shake of his head. "But I've read through the reports the Atlantis team made on these 'Wraith', and if they're even half as bad as they say they are – not to mention this is the same race that wiped out the Ancients."

O'Neill sighed. "I didn't want to say this, especially in front of Everett – no sense giving any false hope – but I made an 'unofficial' call which I'd hoped would've been answered by now, but…" O'Neill shrugged. "I guess they're tied up with their own problems, even if we did save their little gray bums more times than we can count," he muttered.

Caldwell frowned and was about to inquire when a rapid knock at the door produced a harried Walter Harriman.

"Sir, we just got a response from the - "

A sudden flash of incandescent light drowned out the rest of the tech's words as everyone turned to a corner of the general's office. When Caldwell's eyes finally readjusted, he found himself staring at a small gray figure, sitting on a throne-like chair of polished metal.

O'Neill just smiled. "That just never gets old, does it, Thor?"

The alien in question inclined his head. "Greetings, General O'Neill."

Caldwell had never met the Asgard before, so understandably he was very curious. O'Neill sent the technician away and walked over to the alien.

"Thor, buddy, I know this is spur of the moment and all, and I wouldn't have called if this really wasn't an emergency, but – "

"You require an Asgard ship to tow the _Daedalus_ an appreciable distance closer to the Pegasus galaxy," the diminutive alien stated quietly.

O'Neill, mouth still open in mid-speech, blinked. "Well…yeah."

"Although the Asgard have helped you with shield and hyperdrive technology for your ships, I believe we still owe you for all that you've done, especially in ridding the galaxy of the Replicators. Not to mention this is all in defense of the Lost City of the Ancients, one the original Four Races, with whom the Asgard were once allied."

"So…you can do it?" O'Neill asked in a hopeful tone.

Thor nodded. "My people are still in the process of building our new home, but I was able to acquire one of our newest starships just for this task, however," here, the alien looked O'Neill in the eye, "because we are still considerably vulnerable, I can only go to a certain point, perhaps as far as halfway, before I must leave and return home."

Caldwell looked thoughtful. "Even that far from Atlantis, it would cut our flight time if we pushed the engines. With the lift, we could be there in two – two and a half days tops."

"Then the _O'Neill II_ stands ready, General," Thor said. Caldwell raised an eyebrow as he gave his friend an amused look.

"The _O'Neill II_?"

The head of the SGC coughed slightly and actually reddened in the face. "Yeah, well…they had another one that…had to be blown up. It was Carter's dumb idea, anyway."

Another knock on the door and Sgt. Harriman reported that the ZPM had been transported to the _Daedalus_, plugged in and that all systems were go.

"That's my cue," Caldwell said. He took his friend's proffered hand. "One way or another, we'll get there, General."

"I know you will, Colonel." O'Neill looked from Thor and back at Caldwell. He leaned in closer and said, "Though I hope you have enough money to chip in for gas?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The _O'Neill II_ was already countless light years behind, heading back for home. Caldwell's lips pressed together as his ship shuddered a little harder from the over-stressed engines.

"ETA?"

Navigation spoke up over the din, "3 minutes. We should be getting a picture soon."

Caldwell nodded. Along with the engines and hyperdrive, the Asgard shared advanced imaging technology that allowed them to get a long-distance view, even while in hyperspace, of where they were going to jump into, as well as any surprises that might be waiting for them.

A picture finally flickered on the main screen and, although somewhat fuzzy, computer enhancement showed what the _Daedalus_ would be going up against: two Wraith Hive ships. That definitely helped the odds since the report originally stated that three were on the way. Although one of the ships looked to be disgorging fighters, the other sat farther back. He ordered the ship to drop out of hyperspace at a higher orbit, hopefully to catch the lead Wraith ship by surprise.

"2 minutes."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The shadow of the first Wraith Hive ship passed over the Jumper and John could now get a clear view of the second, still some kilometers away. He once again blessed Ancient engineering for the cloak still keeping him out of the enemy's scanners. Now with the objective close by, he was stuck now with trying to figure out where the bomb would do the most damage. He hadn't exactly been given the grand tour the last time he'd been in one. From some very quick and discreet scans he found what looked like the main generators close to the engines. John shrugged. It was a good a target as any. His hand wandered over to a small radio remote Rodney has cobbled together to blow the bomb. A small plastic safety cover was flipped over and his finger rested on the detonator switch.

Just over a minute left.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A sudden klaxon blared across the bridge and Caldwell looked at his Chief Engineer.

"One of the main coolant pumps has blown!" the tech said.

"Are we in danger of losing the core?" Caldwell remembered what had happened with SG-1 and the _Prometheus_ on one of its shakedown cruises and how they'd escaped by the skin of teeth when the hyperdrive malfunctioned. It would be extremely embarrassing to dump the core just as they jumped into battle.

The engineer shook his head. "The backup is working fine, but I'm not sure about the rest. If we don't slow down or Jump into normal space soon…"

"30 seconds!" Navigation announced.

"Give me a continuous countdown when we reach 10 seconds," Caldwell ordered. "All right, let's do this." He looked around and went down his mental checklist.

"Weapons!"

"Rail guns and Mark 42 missiles armed and ready."

"Engineering!"

"Shield batteries charged and ready. Engines are another matter, though we're ready to Jump at your command."

"Flight Ops!"

"F-302's armed and fueled. Flight crews are boarded and ready to launch."

"They're to launch the moment we get into normal space," Caldwell commanded.

"10 seconds!"

Caldwell nodded at his navigator's report. He took a deep breath as the seconds trickled down, the lead Hive Ship looming ever larger on the screen.

"5…4…3…2…1."

Caldwell leaned forward.

"Jump!"

**FIN (or 'continued' in July)**


End file.
